Last month, I uploaded this pregnancy pic of my growing family. My intentions were to announce to my relatives and friends that we were expecting a new baby in March 2017. It was a successful announcement, but to my surprise, it went viral and was shared hundreds of thousands of times across multiple social media platforms. I was somewhat blown away by the support. I couldn’t understand why this one particular photo caught the attention of so many people. After all, it was just a five-minute photo session, shot by our cousin on our front porch, with a camera that my husband had gifted me years ago. I found the shirts on Amazon.com and had my kids to line up and smile, while being bribed with a promise to get ice cream afterwards. Somehow it worked, and people absolutely loved it!

Most people, that is. While the photo went viral because of the positive depiction of an intact, African American family in this new age of America, there was also a lot of backlash expressed. Most people were intrigued and delighted by our family unit (father, mother, two sons, one daughter, and a baby bump) and they made it very clear with loving comments that complimented us in many ways. I wore a tee shirt that accentuated my growing belly and read “This is my last one, seriously” and my husband’s shirt read “The man behind the bump.” It was simply an expression of the type of people we are, and anyone who knows us would agree. We are a fun, silly, unpredictable couple who have three amazing kids that drive us crazy some days! It was supposed to be funny, but apparently some people don’t know how to have fun.

We received multiple negative, vulgar comments such as “you need to learn how to keep your legs closed,” “breeding like animals,” “you’re selfish to keep having all those kids,” “birth control is an option,” “his pull out game is weak,” “keep her pregnant and barefooted,” “Black people always making babies but be the main ones who can’t take care of them,” “she gon be stuck with all the kids when he leaves her,” and so many more. Some of the harsh comments were hard to read and made me upset, but I realized that it wasn’t worth my time to respond to the ignorance. These people don’t know our story. They don’t know that we are actually a blended family, and our oldest boy is from a high school relationship my husband had. They don’t know the pain and struggles we’ve endured. Nor do they know the pure joy that came with that positive pregnancy test. There was so much criticism and negativity over something that my family was ecstatic about.

We tried for months to get pregnant with baby number four. We had experienced a prior miscarriage, but remained faithful. My kids begged and pleaded to have a baby brother or sister. It was a daily request, so every month that we didn’t conceive, it broke our hearts. We had to explain to our babies that it was out of our control and that God would give them a sibling in His timing. That was hard for them to understand. When it finally happened, I cried tears of joy because God had kept His promise to me.

Nearly nine years ago, I’d have never guessed that my dear friend, Jarius, and I would be married with kids of our own. We were mere babies ourselves, walking around campus at The University of Georgia together, laughing and talking about everything under the sun. We were both Child and Family Development majors, which is how we met that glorious summer day in a Human Sexuality class (how ironic!), but we didn’t realize that we were learning foundational lessons about what our future together would hold: children and a family. Today, my husband is a seven-year NFL veteran and I am a stay-at-home mom who has a vegan skincare business (KenzieNaturals.com) and a Mom/Lifestyle blog (BeingMrsMommy.com). We are dedicated to our faith and our family, and are very grateful to be a positive image in a world that can be so negative. I pray that God continues to use our family as a shining example of what He is able to do. With love and God, anything is possible. By the way, if you ever find yourself judging a large family or a woman with multiple children, remember that everyone has a story, and not all people consider additions to their families as mistakes or “slip-ups.” Every child is a miracle, a blessing from God, and a story yet to be told!

* * *

Martavia Wynn is the founder of Kenzie Naturals, a line of natural skincare products, and executive director of The Wynning Foundation, a nonprofit organization for underprivileged youth and families. Check her out on her blog, BeingMrsMommy.com and see more of her pics on Instagram.

Sista, I wanna cuss but I won’t give them joy of knowing they pissed me off! Keep ya head HIGH and you will always be above the ignorant! Congratulations for that beautiful pic and God bless your family!

You are beautiful. Your family is beautiful. You are also an inspiration. A stay at home mom and an entrepreneur. I’m a fiercely independent woman who never thought I would enjoy being a stay at home mom of 2 but I do, and I look forward to starting my own blog at some point and writing children’s books. I want to be like you by the time we try for #3. You go girl!

I am sorry some were so cruel, and obviously racist. I applaud your grace, integrity and witness. We recently moved to Utah with only 1 child and experienced the same in reverse (“only ONE?” was frequently asked with incredulity). Now that we’re pregnant, people are kinder (or at least quieter). We’re also due in March 2017 – may God continue to bless you and your family!

I remember seeing this photo and just admire at how happy and beautiful your family looked! My husband and I have 3 daughters. We have a 4 year old and our twins are two. We just got pregnant with number 4 and couldn’t be more excited. I believe this article came at the perfect time because I already know we’re going to receive a lot of negative feedback when we decide to announce this pregnancy. God bless you and your family! Keep your head high!

I want to know why you’re responding to these negative bitches? These people are miserable and bitter. They have NOTHING going on in their lives. You don’t owe ANYONE a damn explanation. Omg…people are so damn sickening. Leave people alone!!!
I hope you have however many children that YOU and your husband want. You’ll stay blessed…and they’ll remain pressed.

Your family is a shining example of what we should and will celebrate. The negative responses are distractions from a darker side. So glad that you didn’t take the bait. Keep moving forward and stay positive. You will plant great seeds and your harvest will multiply. So proud of you! ❤️

I had to you had to explain yourself. I too have a lare family 4 boys 26, 12, 25, 5 and we love them with everything in us. PEOPLE are stupid you go have your bundle of joy and God will handle the rest. I don’t care if you have 10 kids it’s none of their business. I pray peace and love over your family. Everybody negative go in peace.

You tell them. I think it’s great you two are happy and very much in love. Some people have to be downers or they will bust. So let your happiness fly and enjoy those beautiful children of yours. And congratulations again on the new bundle of joy.

That picture is beautiful and I loved the shirts! I’m laughing out loud because as a mother of four kids, I can understand the meaning behind your shirt and that it was meant to be full of humor and love and not something else. And your hubby’s shirt is exactly the kind of thing my husband would wear, full of pride. Keep it up, enjoy YOUR life, and forget about what others have to say! That baby, your family, is YOUR MIRACLE, your BLESSING and your HAPPINESS!!! Congratulations and good luck!

Beautiful family! The hell with those many ignorant jealous fools. I’ve learned in life most people have so much to say when their not the one providing for the children, more than likely he individuals who has so much to say must have come from a broken family or spouse up and left their butts. You and your family be blessed!

Hey man, your family picture looks cute…can’t really imagine why people will write negative comments on it,….but some people are that way…we can’t control everyone’s mind, just be happy and all the best!